Israel escalates Lebanon strikes as U.S.-Iran talks advance
Israel widened attacks in Lebanon as Washington and Tehran edged toward a deal, killing 31 people in one day and pushing civilians from Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Israeli pressure on Lebanon intensified just as U.S.-Iran diplomacy appeared to gain traction, turning the country’s southern front into the most immediate test of whether a broader Middle East war can be kept from spreading further. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would escalate strikes against Hezbollah, and said he and President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call that Israel would keep the right to confront threats on every front, including Lebanon.
The fighting has continued despite an April 16 truce that was tied to U.S.-backed ceasefire efforts. Iran has demanded a halt to Israeli attacks in Lebanon as part of its talks with Washington, while Hezbollah has objected to Beirut taking part in the negotiations. That has left Lebanon caught between diplomacy and war, with the battlefield becoming part of the bargaining.
The toll on civilians mounted sharply on May 26, when the Lebanese health ministry said Israeli strikes killed 31 people, including at least four children and three women, and wounded 40 more. The strikes hit Burj al-Shamali near Tyre, Kawthariyat al-Riz, Habbush, Maarakeh, Salaa and Mashghara in the West Bekaa. Lebanese state media said one strike landed near a public hospital in Nabatieh, causing significant damage. Israel also issued evacuation warnings for at least 50 towns and villages in southern and eastern Lebanon, including Nabatieh, while an Israeli military official said troops had begun operating beyond the Israel-announced Yellow Line in south Lebanon, about 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory.
The scale of the conflict is already severe. Reuters said the war in Lebanon began on March 2 and that the death toll passed 3,000 by May 18. The World Health Organization has said at least 608 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce, while the Israeli military says Hezbollah attacks have killed at least 11 Israeli soldiers since then. Hezbollah has continued to fire explosive drones and other attacks at Israeli troops and northern Israeli towns.
The military pressure is now moving beyond the southern borderlands. The Associated Press said Israeli troops were clashing with Hezbollah along a strategic river in Lebanon and pushing farther north, reinforcing fears that the campaign is expanding beyond earlier strike patterns. People also fled Beirut’s southern suburbs after Netanyahu warned that Israel would intensify attacks, deepening concern that the capital itself could again become a target. For Washington, the contradiction is stark: diplomacy with Tehran is advancing, but Israel’s widening campaign in Lebanon is making any durable de-escalation harder to secure.
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